World air transport continues to grow strongly, with corresponding economic importance and ecological consequences. Advanced composite materials have the potential to reduce the weight of the fuselage of future commercial aircraft by 5-8 tons (c. 30 %). Over an aircraft's lifetime this means fuel savings of c. 24 million litres of kerosene. This leads to a significant reduction in the associated emissions of pollutants. Additionally, new fiber composites have the potential to significantly decrease the manufacturing costs in comparison to current metal fuselage constructions. The aim is to decrease the costs by 40 %.

Within the framework of a HGF Strategy Fund project under the leadership of the Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (German Aerospace Research Establishment - DLR) various institutes of DLR and ITAS are determining the necessary basis for an optimised development process for selected fuselage components of a commercial airliner. In this project, ITAS identifies the material and energy inputs associated with the manufacture, use and disposal of carbon fiber-fuselage components and the resulting emissions. In the next stage an impact assessment will be performed in which the effects of the released substances on man and environment will be assessed. Finally, the individual results will be evaluated using indicators and impact categories and compared with fuselage components made of conventional aluminium materials.